There is continuing pressure for the reduction of overall power consumption and movement toward “green” technologies within the lighting industry. This invention is directed toward meeting the demands of both of these ideals in the area of general lighting through the use of LED-based luminaire systems. The invention is a complete LED lighting system that makes innovative use of new LED technology and low-voltage, remotely-located power drivers/controllers and commonly-available communication network cabling and the corresponding standard connectors used with such cabling. Communication network cabling, typically comprising four twisted pairs of conductors, has become a low-cost commodity item as have the standard connectors used with such cabling. Because the voltage used in such cabling (and power units connected thereto) is low-voltage, the skill level (and cost per hour) of the installers is low, providing strong incentive for utilization of such a cost-effective system. Also, the ease of interconnection available with the standard network connectors further reduces the time required for installation.
The resultant lighting systems can provide at least 50% reduction in power consumption aggregately over current lighting systems, with an efficient, consistent and uniform realized lumen output. Adoption of this approach by an end-user reduces initial installation costs by using simple cable feeds without the need of conduit and by exploiting the quick-connection aspects of the standard connectors. By using LEDs with, for example, a 50,000 hour (minimum) maintenance-free life, the inventive lighting system provides superior installation simplicity and system performance using a comparatively “green” technology with a substantial reduction in “total-cost-of-ownership per unit area of application space” for the end-user.